Water skis



June 25, 1963 c. v. CRAVOTTA WATER SKIS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 27,1960 INVENTOR.

COS/MO Z CPAVOTZ I BY;

June 25, 1963 c. v. CRAVOTTA 3,094,721

WATER SKIS Filed May 27, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheer 2 raw /-7 @raq -"v r l i Ax 3" 46 4144 39 i 4.?

F 9 I INVENTOR.

' cos/Mo 1/ ca: Var/21 United States Patent 0.

3,094,'7 21 WATER SKIS Cosimo V. Cravotta, Pittsburgh, Pa., .assignor toCravotta Brothers, .Inc.,,East McKeesport, Pa.,-a corporation ofPennsylvania .Filed May 27,1969, Ser. No. 32,374

1 Claim. ((1119- 310) This invention'relates to waterskis,more-especially water skis made at least in major part-of -wood. Moreparticularly, my invention pertains to a water ski'made up ofa'plurality of pieces 'for one or more 'reasons of economy, performance,convenience and strength. Further, this invention-includesskiswhich arebuilt-up of Wood pieces in whole or "in 'part with, optionally, sidewings and/or'removable frontand rear-endpieces.

'turns may readily'and'rapidly becomeunstableywhereas I optionallyprovide integral side supports inthe form of wings which providestability on turns enabling them to be taken at slower speedwithouttspilling and without detrimentally increasing theforwardplaning'drag of the skis. In addition, boats of lesser power maybe utilized to tow a skier on suchskis without sinking. Still further,my invention optionally may-beprovided in the form of a knock-down skiwith removable front and back pieces which are readily rigidlyattachable to the body portion ofthe ski made in accordance withone'orvmore other aspects of'this invention.

Other objects,'featur-es and 'advantages of thisinven- .tion-will .beapparent f-rom'the following description and the accompanyingdrawings,which are illustrative only, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a-composite all-wood water skiembodimentyofzthis invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the ski embodimentrshown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view in section takenalongline-IIL-III of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view in section taken along line IV-IV of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of another composite allwood embodiment of thisinvention utilizing integral side supports;

FIGURE 6 is a view in side elevation of the embodiment shown in FIGURE5;

FIGURE 7 is a view in section taken along line VII-VII of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a view in plan of a further embodiment of a composite waterski of this invention with removable front -and back pieces; and

FIGURE 9 is a view in side elevation of the further embodiment shown inFIGURE 8.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown therein a composite all-woodwater ski 10, of which a pair normally are used by a water skier unlessa single ski is utilized as in the case of special or slalom events whena single ski may be utilized, sometimes with a toe piece behind anadjustable foot binder =11 shown in chain line outline. Such a skibinder may be made in accordance with my application for Letters PatentSerial No. 642,101, filed February 25, 1957, now Patent No. 2,939,159,and attached to ski as shown therein.

3,094,721 Patented Jun25, 1963 ice Composite ski ltl provides-aturned up-front-end-12 or toe, roundedin plan at-13"and-'aflat 'back or rear end1-4 which also-may be rounded in-plan as-shown at "15.

An integral body portion 16 extends between the toe 12 andheel 14 of'the 'ski and all together provide acon- -tinuous, smooth planing 1surface 17 cm the underside thereof and a smooth upper surface 18 intheembodiment illustrated. The central section-of the skiitself extendslongitudinally between unsectioned'entire side binding -mernbers 19 ofwood which extend the length'of the ski. Such central section is madeupofend to-end-and side-to-side abutting sections 'of'wood comprising"relatively short pieces which is a matterof great economy and moreefficient utilization'ofdressed lumber'used in 'the production of *skis.Skis preferably are made 'of ratherhigh quality woods including ash,maple, mahogany and "others. {In ski 10, the use of such a built-up woodcentral section also enables pleasingpatternsof commercial sales appealvalue to be obtained. *Thus, pieces marked M may'be pieces of darkerwmahog lyvand the remainder may be pieces of alighter-wood such'as ashor maple. 'I-lence, with a clear waterproof lacquer finish, ski 10 isvery attractive due in part-to the -factthat the ski 10- can be'made upof smaller piecesof'contrasting wood between the side binder members 19.Or, the pieces used can be'of the same color'andstock if desired.Pre-ferably,'the'pieces 20 are "madeo'f one-thickness of solid wood,but'they may be ,made of-plywood instead, if desired.

The front and backabutting edges of: the various 'wood sections 20areserrated in complementary fashion "as shown to provide'each with adovetailed 'oriserr-ation'joint 21 illustratedin FIGURE 3,'w-hich jointisbondedwhen the matching serrations are brought togetherby a resorcinolbase wood glue .or other waterproofmarine glue -for wood. Such woodgluesare, onkthe 'market'and provide a permanent bond of greatstrength.

The central section of ski .10 has three longitudinal courses, a centralcourse A, a right-hand courseB and a left-hand course .C, attheiheado'f.eachjof'which such letters havebeen placediin'FlGURE l. The front andback '(cross) joints 21 of the wood pieces are .displaced longitudinallyin each coursebfrom any joint of theimmediately adjoining course orcourses. 1Further,1side (lengthwise) joints 22 where thepieces 20 abutone another and the side binder members 19 preferably-are provided withsimilar complementary serrations'as illustrated in FIGURE 4, each joint22 being bonded by a. waterproof marine wood glue. The unsectioned andunbroken character of the side members 19 appears to lock the compositecentral section together in a way which prevents separation at any ofthe joints in the finished composite all-wood ski 10. Further, suchcomposite skis illustrated in FIGURES l to 4 may be made of a relativelythinner wood for a ski of given strength and be less subject to warping,twisting or splitting.

In the modification illustrated in FIGURES 5 to 7, there are unbrokenside binder members 2 3 of wood which extend along the entire length ofthe sides of composite ski 24 and serve the purpose and function of thecooperating side members 19 in the preceding embodiment. In addition,there is a longitudinal central section between members 23 comprisingsections 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29, of wood, with the wood in sections 26-and 28, for example, being made of wood of a contrasting color toprovide a pleasing and harmonious pattern. Cross joints 30 andlongitudinally extending joints 31 between abutting such wood pieceshave matching serrations on the abutment faces and such abutment facesare bonded to one another by waterproof glue in the manner previouslydescribed in connection with cross joints 21 and longitudinal joints 22.

A ski binder 32 like binder 11, is also provided on the top of each ski24 for skiing use. The outermost longitudinal joints 31 bond a pair ofshorter side wings 33 to the main portion of ski 21 and make them anintegral part thereof. In cross section, as shown in FIGURE 7, the sidesupports 33 are curved upwardly at 34 so that the cross section isgenerally in the form of an arc flattened in the center. Hence, a skierusing a pair of the composite skis 24 when starting out on a tow for arun will reach a planing position more quickly because he has not onlythe upwardly curved toe portions 35 to aid in reaching a planingposition on the surface of the Water but also a greater area during thatperiod on the underside 36 of the body of the ski because of theadditional area furnished by the bottom surfaces ofthe wings 33. And,skis 24 can be successfully towed without sinking by a slower boat thanotherwise would be the case because of the somewhat greater planingsurface provided in such case by the underside of each ski 24. At thesame time, planing speed is not substantially reduced, or dragincreased, by the wings 33 as the skis attain planing speed because ofthe laterally upwardly curved form of the wings 33. Further, turns maybe taken with one or more skis 24 with less skill, or at slower speeds,without spilling the skier, because as the ski is tilted about itslongitudinal axis, additional supporting area is brought to bear againstthe surface of the water due to greater surface engagement with thewater by the wing on the inside of the turn.

In the further ski embodiment 37 of FIGURES 8 and 9, a fiexure main bodyportion 38 is made of wood either in the composite form of ski or of ski24, or by longitudinal strips of wood having lengthwise jointspermanently bonded together, or a single piece of wood may be used forbody 38', as desired. A binder 39 is affixed thereto like and in themanner of binder "11 or 32. The front or back ends of body 38 areprovided respectively with a front tenon 40 and a rear tenon 41. Fronttenon 40 cooperates with a relatively close fitting socket 42 at theback of an upwardly curved front piece 43 made of wood, or of plasticwhich is die cast or otherwise for-med. Similarly, a socket 44 in a backpiece 45 closely fits around tenon 41 to complete ski 37 when it is tobe used. Heel member 45 may be made of wood, or of plasitc which is diecast or otherwise formed. A rudder 46 may be used as shown on theunderside of member 45 and may be integral therewith if member 45 ismade of plastic. Otherwise, it may be attached by means of screws orbolts. When the front and back pieces 43 and 45 are pulled off andseparated from their respective tenons, ski 37 is in its knockdowncondition and its length materially shortened, which is a greatconvenience for those who may wish to carry skis 37 about with them fromplace to place. When assembled, as shown in FIGURES 8 and 9, the members43 and 45 are rigidly held in place with the aid of the aforesaid tenonsand by plates 47 and 48, respectively, which as shown are permanentlyfixed to body 38 by carriage belts or rivets 49 and 50. Carriage bolts51 and 52, after the assembly is made, are passed through predrilledholes therefor extending through the socket walls and tenonsrespectively to unite ski 37 in a rigid assembly, with the toe and heelpieces 43 and 45 fastened to the body 38.

Various details of the illustrated embodiments may be changed, and otherembodiments provided, without departing from the spirit of my inventionor the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A water ski, having a foot binder position thereon, comprising alongitudinally extending central section and two one-piece side bindermembers of single thickness on the outer sides of said central sectionforming lengthwise joints therewith, said central section being made upof relatively shorter pieces of wood of single thickness in front andback abutting relation forming cross joints, said cross joints beingbonded together with serration joints, said lengthwise joints beingbonded together, a side support member of single thickness on the outerside of each side binder member in lengthwise joint abutting relationtherewith, said last-mentioned lengthwise joints being bonded together,said side support members being substantially parallel to the centerline of said ski and having a length comprising a minor portion of theover all length of said ski, said support members further beinggenerally athwar-t said foot binder position on said water ski, saidside support members further being positioned with the underside thereofextending laterally outwardly and upwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS411,255 Newburg Sept. 17, 1889 1,222,114 McCarty Apr. 10, 1917 1,608,000Ranlett Nov. 23, 1926 1,853,159 Welsh Apr. 12, 1932 2,469,798 TrachslinMay 10, 1949 2,823,397 Wagner Feb. 18, 1958 2,894,760 Kolstad July 14,1959 2,958,875 McClain Nov. 8, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 158,563 SwitzerlandFeb. 1, 1933 358,705 Italy Apr. 26, 1938 407,166 Italy Sept. 21, 1944240,815 Switzerland May 16, I946

